PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING :: Group Dynamics and Methods used in Group Dynamics.

A classroom is an interactive, independent and influencing group. Pupils and the teacher in any class are interdependent and influencing each other. Without the students, the teacher does not have existence in classroom. Likewise, students without the teacher cannot carry on purposeful activity for long. When they are together, they interact and in course of interaction, influence is exerted.

Interaction among the members of the group causes perpetual change in personality and behavior of the members in the group. Thus, Group dynamics means the change of behavior through interaction in the group. Dynamics means the act of changing.

Group dynamics refer to the forces, which operate in group situations. It studies the structure of the group, and other phenomena, that emerge out of group interaction.

Teacher must be aware of the group dynamics, as they spend a lot of time with groups of children. Group dynamics refers to a set of behaviors such as role playing, influencing and performing certain activities. Observation, role play, buzz sessions, feedback of group processes and group decisions are some of the techniques of understanding that enhance the desirable influences and likewise dilute or discourage the negative forces influencing the group, thus promoting the dynamic nature of the group.

Group dynamics comprises all the principles and laws governing the group and improving the functions of the group. It stresses the social and psychological forces within the group.

Methods:

Sociometry- Classroom must remain dynamic and not dormant. Sociometry studies the classroom dynamics. It was devised by Austrian psychologist J.L.Moreno.

It is the study of those aspects of the socio-emotional climate in the classroom having to do with feelings of attraction, rejection or indifferences. Which pupils express toward each other, when faced with situations calling for interaction within classroom.

It is a method of discovering and analyzing patterns of relationship or friendship within a group setting.  It is a method that includes study of social relations in the classroom. It attempts to know how feelings are transmitted among class-members.

It provides clues to the reasons for behavior-problems. It improves human relations.

Society is basically an “attraction-repulsion” system. It involves a test to know the reactions of students among themselves. Within a few weeks each one would know about others. The teacher prepares a open-ended questionnaire, but he/she also keeps the information confidentially from the others. It has some questions which the students have the freedom to choose. Either the students give a positive response or a negative choice. Based on the student reactions the teacher could prepare a socio-matrix. Each card given to student is checked and the choices are entered in the matrix in the form of ‘tallies.’

In a class of 40 students there would be 40 squares horizontally and 40 vertically making a total of 1600 squares, of which 40 squares would be eliminated by drawing a diagonal line from the top left to bottom right square.

Sociogram- A sociogram is a diagrammatic representation of the mutual choice, rejection and indifferences of the people. The socio-matrix could be represented in the form of a diagram, called sociogram.

In order to draw such a diagram, a few rules must be followed--

Rules:

A à B              A likes B.

A ßà B      Reciprocated choice, A like B and B like A.

A ------à B      A dislikes B.

A     à  B          A likes B, B dislikes or rejects A.

    ß----

If neither a broken nor a continuous line is drawn towards a student, it must be taken as ‘ignored.’

In order to draw a sociogram for a class consisting of 30 or 40 students, four concentric squares or circles, one within the other are drawn and students are placed based on the positions depending upon their score obtained in the socio-matrix.

Star, Isolate and Rejectee-

In sociometric language, a star is one who has been chosen more often by his classmates. He is the ‘natural’ leader.

An isolate is one who has been ignored by his classmates. It is the duty of the teacher to identify such isolates and help them to mingle with other students.

A rejectee receives maximum number of negative scores. He is disliked by all. He is one who creates nuisance in the class by frequent fighting and quarrelling.

A teacher’s observation and evaluation may not always be right, so it is good to have a sociometric study.

Recapitulation- For more effective learning, students must be allowed to have exchange of ideas freely without much intervention by the teacher. This freedom would make them think and articulate. Communication skill is very important.

Ned Flander, an American educationist tried to study such pupil-interaction and relate the same to the learning outcome. Such a study is called Interaction Analysis.

Example: - Does the teacher talk all the time in the class, or does the teachers allow students to talk. By his analysis he identified 10 categories of interaction. The student will record the happenings in a sequential order in a matrix.

 After his analysis Flander concluded, Indirect influence being better than the direct influence. 

As a teacher we at times form teams at school, we need to understand the fact that, all teams are groups but not all groups are teams. Teams often are difficult to form because it takes time for pupils to learn how to work together. Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than oneself. In a team-oriented environment, one contributes to the overall development of each other. One works with fellow friend to produce better results.

When we understand the group dynamics of a class, a teacher can actually take up the class in his or her hands and mold them perfectly the way he or she wants. The bigger picture drives your actions; your function as teacher exists to serve the bigger picture.

It is the positivity that a teacher includes in a class which then is adopted by the pupils, who ‘work intensely on a specific, common goal using their positive synergy, individual and mutual accountability, and complementary skills’.

Team-building helps to increase intra-group and inter-group effectiveness to bring pupils together, make them share their perception of each other and understand each other’s point of view and make the whole process of learning beneficial for the entire class as a team and hence, our goal of making the ambassadors of peace is attained.

And lastly in the making of Great Leaders we need influencing and inspiring teachers... 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020